The LGBTQ community expected the World Cup “pride match” in Seattle to end “pride month” with a bang, but the event drew a more subdued response than some supporters anticipated.
The match between Iran and Egypt Friday coincided with the city’s Pride celebration and had been designated a local LGBTQ event before FIFA released the match schedule.
Iran, which punishes homosexuality with the death penalty, and Egypt, which criminalizes homosexual acts with prison sentences, both submitted formal complaints to FIFA in December over the unofficial “pride match.”
Both countries argued that pride symbols and celebrations conflicted with their cultures and religious beliefs.
“We believe FIFA should take into account the views and concerns of the participating teams when considering matters related to the match environment and stadium presentation,” Iran said in its statement to FIFA.
This year’s Pride Month under President Donald Trump was more subdued than in previous years, with several major companies, including Amazon and Nike, scaling back their usual Pride branding.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino clarified that the “pride match” was not a FIFA-organized event but a local initiative by Seattle. FIFA also said pride symbols, including rainbow flags, would not be prohibited at Lumen Field, which is referred to as Seattle Stadium during the World Cup.
Although rainbow flags were visible throughout Seattle, comparatively few fans wore rainbow apparel inside the stadium. During the match, which ended in a 1-1 draw, there was no on-field recognition of the Pride event.
FOX Sports’ broadcast showed crowds dominated by the red, white, green and black colors of the competing teams rather than Pride symbols.
“I don’t expect a lot from FIFA, so I am not that surprised, but it’s a little disappointing,” Seattle resident Hunter Schafer told The Associated Press regarding the limited Pride presence inside the stadium.
Despite the limited visibility during the match, some publications and LGBTQ supporters called the event a success.
Time magazine published an article with the headline, “The World Cup Pride Match Is a Winner.” FIFA World Cup 2026 Seattle also shared several Instagram photos of fans celebrating Pride.
Fans outside Seattle Stadium told the BBC it was encouraging to “coexist” with supporters from countries where homosexuality is illegal.
“There are so many people here that are in either country’s outfit and hanging out with others that are wearing rainbow,” one fan told the BBC. “I haven’t seen anyone arguing or yelling.”
“The match is about Seattle, not Egypt or Iran,” Welsh soccer player Jess Fishlock, who is married to a woman and now lives and plays in Seattle, said.
However, one Egyptian fan disagreed.
“Right now it’s about two teams trying to get to the next round,” Makarius Demian told the BBC. “Pride match or no pride match, that’s not what matters.”
At a pre-match news conference, Iranian coach Amir Ghalenoei said his team was focused solely on soccer.
“As for things that are forbidden in our religion and do not exist, we do not want to talk about them,” he said, referring to LGBTQ pride. “We only talk about the match, football and the beauty of the game.”
One person posted criticism of the Pride match on X and received many negative responses.
“#FIFA’s duty is to respect the cultural and religious values of all participating nations equally, not to allow a host city to impose its ideology on sovereign teams,” the post said.
“Seattle’s unilateral ‘Pride Match’ declaration against the explicit objections of #Egypt and #Iran is not inclusivity – it’s disrespect dressed as virtue. … Keep politics off the pitch.”
(Match photo courtesy of Egypt National Team, Instagram, @egyptnt)
